This post about the importance of exercise for older adults is by Dave Durell, MS, PTA, CCS, our guest in episode 463, watch the video or listen to the audio.

Once we get into our 40’s or so, a physiological process called sarcopenia begins to manifest, and it sticks with us for life.
Sarcopenia is age-related muscle loss, and scientists estimate it causes us to lose around ½ a pound of muscle a year, or about 5 pounds of movement-producing muscle tissue per decade. This is akin to the engine in your car shrinking and losing horsepower every year.
And it gets worse – assuming we maintain the same eating habits, that lost muscle will be replaced by stored body fat. So even if our body weight stays the same over the years, we are getting weaker and fatter as a natural consequence of ageing.

The point is that if we don’t do anything, we don’t stay the same, we get worse, because our ability to function independently and our overall health are being eroded just by the passage of time.

The best way to mitigate the effects of Sarcopenia is through exercise for older adults, with progressive resistance exercise or strength training.

For older people, strength training is less about appearance and more about health and function. Building and maintaining a high level of muscular strength makes all physical activity easier and allows older people to achieve their highest possible level of pain-free function.
This brings the freedom to say YES to those bucket list items that create lasting memories, whether it’s a family trip to Machu Picchu, trying paddleboarding for the first time, or even just being able to join in the backyard volleyball game at a family reunion.
The health benefits of strength training, especially for people over 50, are far-reaching, too many to list here, but I’ll give you a few

Strength training:

• Improves glucose metabolism, which is important for combating diabetes
• Increases basal metabolic rate, which is basically the number of calories you burn at rest (muscles are your calorie-burning engines, and the bigger and stronger they are, the more calories they need, even when you’re resting, which leaves less calories left over to be stored as fat)
• Reduces pain and discomfort from arthritis
• Improves bone mineral density, important for those at risk for osteoporosis
• Has a beneficial effect on self-esteem
• And here’s an exciting one for use older folks: strength training has even been shown in studies to improve executive cognitive function in seniors, such as improved task performance, enhanced selective attention and conflict resolution. Cognitive impairment and dementia are obviously big health care issues for seniors, and strength training once or twice a week has been shown to combat cognitive decline.
• In fact, properly performed strength training is the closest thing we have to a real-life Fountain of Youth.
• The return on your time investment with strength training is so overwhelmingly positive, I can’t think of a good reason not to do it. If you do it properly, it’s safe, doesn’t require any athletic skill, doesn’t take a lot of time (only 30-40 minutes, once or twice a week), and it’s sustainable for life.

Dave Durell has been improving the quality of people’s lives through strength training for over 40 years as a Personal Trainer and Studio owner, licensed Physical Therapist Assistant, and former Collegiate and NFL Strength Coach. He operates the popular website StrengthAfter50.com, where he helps people over 50 stay strong, rebuild themselves and live full, active lives.
To learn more about how to set up a personalised strength training program that is safe, effective, time-efficient and sustainable, visit Dave at StrengthAfter50.com.